"The best of the best" - 20 years of pioneering spirit at Google in Zurich
Twenty years ago, Google got its start with a handful of employees at the Waser-Haus in Zurich. Today, more than 5,000 employees from 85 countries are shaping innovations that set the standard worldwide. At the anniversary celebration, pioneers, business leaders, and Googlers spoke about the company’s early days, its rapid rise, and a future shaped by artificial intelligence.
"Googling" became an official entry in the dictionary in 2004 - and Google Switzerland opened its first development site in Europe on Zurich's Limmatquai in the same year. Urs Hölzle, founding father of the Zurich site and number eight employee worldwide at the time, explains: "It became clear that the search engine would become a global product, and Zurich was the perfect location thanks to its proximity to ETH." Today, Google Switzerland has over 5,000 employees from 85 nations and has developed into one of the company's most important innovation centers.
The anniversary event: a look back and forward
At the 20th anniversary celebration at Google's headquarters on Europaallee, high-profile guests such as Monika Rühl, Director of economiesuisse, and Prof. Dr. Joël Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, emphasized the importance of Google for Switzerland as a business location. The close connection to ETH Zurich and EPFL in Lausanne has helped to establish Switzerland as an international center of innovation. It was emphasized that many former Google employees have since founded start-ups or work as professors at leading universities. In total, 115 companies with over 1,700 jobs were founded by former employees.
Zooglers from the very beginning: stories from the early days
Ralph Keller and Reto Strobl - both of whom have been with the company since the early days - talk about how they became part of Google. Keller remembers: "An article in the NZZ about Google Zurich was the starting signal. I met Urs Hölzle at Olten train station, and shortly afterwards I was part of the team." Reto Strobl's journey began thanks to his wife, who had a TV report on "10 to 10" about Google and encouraged him to apply: "There's an Urs from Google and he's looking for the best." The then doctoral student and ETH graduate did not want to contradict his wife. He has been working for Google ever since.
The first years at Google Zurich were characterized by improvisation and rapid growth. Ralph Keller and Reto Strobl recounted anecdotes from a time when the site was still a small office on Limmatquai. Keller reports: "I started on my first day at work, and two hours later I was already conducting my first job interview. We had so many vacancies and needed to grow quickly." Strobl adds: "Sometimes it was all over the place. We had new employees, but no furniture. On Friday afternoons, we drove to Ikea in private cars to buy beds and tables, which we then assembled ourselves."
Larry Page's vision: "Changing the world"
Reto Strobl, who played a key role in the monetization of YouTube, tells a formative story from the early days: "I had developed a survey widget and was enthusiastic. But Larry Page told me: 'I didn't hire you to build polls. I hired you to change the world'. Those words completely changed my perspective on innovation." This mentality shaped the work at the Zurich site. Projects such as the development of Google Scholar or the integration of real-time navigation data in Google Maps were driven forward decisively here.
Milestones and expansion
The acquisition of the Swiss company Endoxon marked a turning point. It laid the foundation for the further development of Google Maps. Keller describes the time as follows: "It was incredible to work on technologies that we take for granted today. Back then, everything felt new and groundbreaking." The team also grew rapidly. Urs Hölzle remembers: "I used to walk around and ask: 'What is your Job Number One? The answer was always: 'Hiring. Without enough employees, we wouldn't have been able to take on any major projects." According to Hölzle, the move to the Hürlimann site with plenty of space to expand was also a decisive factor.
Artificial intelligence: the next step
The importance of artificial intelligence (AI) for the future of Google was particularly emphasized at the anniversary event. Artificial intelligence is already playing a decisive role in Switzerland's economic development. The use of generative AI can increase Switzerland's annual gross domestic product by 80 to 85 billion Swiss francs (up to 11 percent) over the next ten years. This is according to the results of the study commissioned by Google this year. Study "The economic potential of AI for Switzerland"which was supported by economiesuisse. Monika Rühl, Director of economiesuisse, referred to the study again today and emphasized that Switzerland has a strong innovation ecosystem and is in a leading position in Europe to exploit the potential of AI for sustainable economic growth.
In a video interview with m&k, Martin Bäuml from the Google Gemini team explained how AI products such as Google Lens are being further developed.
From improvisation to inspiration
The stories of the first employees and the rapid rise of Google Zurich show how great things can come from small beginnings. Christine Antlanger-Winter, Country Director Google Switzerland and Regional Director Switzerland and Austria, summed it up aptly: "Google has strong ties to Switzerland. The local innovation environment has inspired Google ever since. Close cooperation and exchange with our partners from science, education and industry are very important to us. Collaboration is very important at Google - both internally and externally. We invent together. This is a value that Google and Switzerland share. Innovation is in the DNA of Switzerland as much as it is in the DNA of Google." With this philosophy, the Zurich site remains not only a place to look back, but above all a center that shapes the future of technology.
